People v. Robinson9/24/2003
l is a final judgment and shall be served upon the petitioner by certified mail within 10 days of its entry." (Emphasis added.) 725 ILCS 5/122-2.1 (West 2000).
The cardinal rule of statutory construction is to ascertain and give effect to the true intent of the legislature. Premier Property Management, Inc. v. Chavez, 191 Ill. 2d 101 (2000). Courts must view statutory sections both in their entirety as well as in context of all of the other sections in the whole of the act itself. Northwest Diversified, Inc. v. Mauer, 341 Ill. App. 3d 27 (2003), citing Antunes v. Sookhakitch, 146 Ill. 2d 477, 484 (1992). "To determine the legislature's intent, a court first looks to the statute's language, according that language its plain and commonly understood meaning. If possible, the court must give effect to every word, clause, and sentence; it must not read a statute so as to render any part inoperative, superfluous, or insignificant; and it must not depart from the statute's plain language by reading into it exceptions, limitations, or conditions the legislature did not express." People v. Ellis, 199 Ill. 2d 28, 39 (2002), citing Kraft, Inc. v. Edgar, 138 Ill. 2d 178, 189 (1990). In no way should part of a statute be rendered meaningless. Northwest Diversified, 341 Ill. App. 3d at 36, citing Westcom/Dillingham Microtunneling v. Walsh Construction Co. of Illinois, 319 Ill. App. 3d 870, 875 (2001). " 'The court, however, must construe the statute as written and may not, under the guise of construction, supply omissions, remedy defects, annex new provisions, add exceptions, limitations, or conditions, or otherwise change the law so as to depart from the plain meaning of the language employed in the statute.' " Northwest Diversified, 341 Ill. App. 3d at 36, quoting In re Application of the County Treasurer & ex officio Collector of Cook County, 323 Ill. App. 3d 1044, 1049 (2001)..
" he word 'shall' is generally indicative of a mandatory intent." People v. Porter, 122 Ill. 2d 64, 85 (1988), citing People v. Youngbey, 82 Ill. 2d 556 (1980). "Similarly, mandatory intent is indicated where a statute prescribes the result that will occur if the specified procedure is not followed." Porter, 122 Ill. 2d at 85, citing People v. Brown, 142 Ill. App. 3d 139 (1986). Here it is undisputed that, due to an error of the clerk of the circuit court, the order of dismissal was not served upon the petitioner within 10 days of its entry as is required by section 122-2.1(a)(2). "Dismissal of the post-conviction petition is void if the trial court fails to comply with the provisions of section 122-2.1." People v. Rutkowski, 225 Ill. App. 3d 1065, 1067 (1992), citing People v. Magdaleno, 188 Ill. App. 3d 384, 386 (1989). The Illinois Supreme Court, in addressing the timing requirements of this statutory provision, has held that "the requirement that the court enter a written order of dismissal within days after filing is a mandatory requirement." Rutkowski, 225 Ill. App. 3d at 1067, citing People v. Porter, 122 Ill. 2d 64, 85 (1988). In Porter, the Illinois Supreme Court differentiated between the timing requirements in 122-2.1 within which the trial court must act and the contents of the order that must be entered by the trial court. In discussing the sentencing statutes found under section 5-4-1(c) of the Unified Code of Corrections (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 1005-4-1(c)) with reference to the case of People v. Davis, 93 Ill. 2d 155 (1982), the Illinois Supreme Court in Porter "reasoned that the pronouncement of sentence was at the heart of the judicial function and therefore the legislature was without the authority to dictate its content." Porter, 122 Ill. 2d at 82. In applying Davis to section 122-2.1, Porter ex
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